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MTBE / Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)

MtBE is the abbreviation for the compound "methyl tertiary butyl ether". This compound is a colorless liquid added to gasoline. So its presence in well water would indicate that gasoline contamination exists in the well. MTBE degrades very slowly, is highly soluble in water, and has very low taste and color thresholds.

the Environmental Protection Agency has not set a formal health based drinking water standard for MtBE. However, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has developed a health based drinking water standard or MTBE of 13 micrograms per liter (ug/l). Studies with animals suggest drinking water with high levels of MTBE may cause stomach irritation, liver and kidney damage, and nervous systems facts. An increased demand of liver and dney cancer was found in rats and mice breathing high levels of MTBE. Because of the animal studies on MTBE, New Hampshire considers MTBE a possible human carcinogen.

MTBE is tested in a group of approximately 60 compounds associated with petroleum or organic chemical contamination called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's). Many of these compounds are also known carcinogens.